Top 10 Ways to Start a Business For Less Than $500

We've heard numerous success stories of Internet entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, who started Amazon.com from his garage, using cheap plywood to construct desks. There are scores of others and they never fail to make new entrepreneurs feel a little overwhelmed or dare I say, jealous. Well not every business has the moneymaking potential of some of these successful businesses but it's no reason for you not to have a profitable business of your own. After you read this article you'll never have to ask again, "I'm barely making ends meet. How can I start a business? "

Unfortunately, the bills don't stop coming in just because you've decided to start a business. In fact, they seem to increase exponentially. Your success, as budget-conscious entrepreneur, will depend on thinking and planning smart.

Below are 10 ways to start business for less than $500. You may have to make some sacrifices but that's what small business is all about, at least at first.

If you don't already own a computer, purchase a used or refurbished computer. With computer prices dropping everyday(new computers are starting at around $500), you can easily obtain an affordable, and fairly up-to-date computer for less than $200. If that's still more than you'd like to spend, remember you can always check out what local agencies offer free computer use. Start with your local library!

For a professional web site, use a template before hiring a professional. Templates can start at as little as $25 a piece. You can always hire customized design services once you grow.

Use business document templates to provide professional invoices, letters, and contracts that you can easily customize.

Submit articles like this one to various e-zines for free traffic.

Operating solely on the Internet is the best way to dramatically reduce startup costs. You can find affordable and feature packed hosting for less than $10 a month. And custom domain names can be registered for under $10 per year.

Offer your expertise on various web site forums for free self-promotion. Make sure you adhere to the submission rules of each site.

Starting a service business means you don't have to invest in any initial inventory!

Start a small pay-per-click campaign for under $200 to test your offer and bring in initial traffic.

If you have a retail business, make the initial orders on-demand, meaning you don't buy any inventory until someone makes the purchase. Make sure you include the added time frame when you estimate the expected delivery date for your customers.

The idea is to keep thinking creatively about how you will invest your dollars so you can avoid spending too much in any one area before your business has proven itself. You can redevelop your budget as you go along and feel relatively secure doing so. You never know, you could be the next big success story.

Iran‚Äôs foreign minister has said his country will not only survive newly reimposed US sanctions but it will thrive.

The Trump administration announced sanctions this month covering banking, oil exports and shipping, aimed at forcing Tehran to stop what the US described as its ‚Äúdestabilising activities‚ÄĚ in the Middle East.

The White House has backed down in its fight with CNN over correspondent Jim Acosta‚Äôs press pass, ending a legal fight over press freedom and the US constitution that has roiled the political and media landscape.

In a letter to the network the White House laid out several new rules for journalists covering presidential press conferences, including limiting questions to one per journalist, with a follow-up at the discretion of the president or other White House officials.

Leading wildlife camera operators and film-makers have defended the film crew on David Attenborough‚Äôs latest BBC series over their decision to break with convention and intervene to save a group of penguins that had become trapped in a ravine.

Nature film-makers are discouraged from intervening in the events they are attempting to capture on film. While the general principle is to avoid interfering with the natural course of events, the crew on the Dynasties series stepped in when they saw the birds‚Äô predicament.

People rescued from a trapped elevator in one of Chicago‚Äôs tallest skyscrapers later learned they had dropped 84 floors.

The Chicago Tribune reported on Monday that six people, including a pregnant woman, got into the elevator early on Friday after leaving a restaurant on the 95th floor of the 875 North Michigan Avenue building, formerly the John Hancock Center. They heard noises and experienced a faster and bumpier than expected ride.

Donald Trump‚Äôs efforts to drastically limit the right to asylum in the US came under legal challenge in California as lawyers for migrant rights groups argued that the president had overridden immigration laws and placed the lives of migrant children in jeopardy.

The Trump administration issued a new rule on 9 November that effectively banned migrants from claiming asylum if they crossed the US border outside of a designated port of entry. The rule, issued by presidential decree, penalises thousands of migrants, many of whom are mothers and children fleeing violence in Central America, who cross the border illegally.

Germany has imposed European travel bans on 18 Saudi nationals suspected of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and confirmed its arms embargo against the regime in Riyadh.

The measures were announced by the German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, who told reporters in Brussels that the travel ban covered the 26-nation Schengen zone and had been issued in close coordination with France, which is part of the Schengen area, and the UK, which is not.

US response to UK push for ceasefire in port city of Hodeidah remains unclear

The UK has put forward a UN security council resolution that calls for an immediate truce in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah and guarantees of safe delivery of food and medicine.

The draft resolution is opposed by Saudi Arabia, which is leading airstrikes against Houthi rebels, and it is unclear how much effort the US is prepared to make to push it to a vote at the security council. A parallel peace effort being led by the UN also hangs in the balance as negotiations continue over safe passage of Houthi rebels to peace talks in Sweden.

Architectural photographer Cody Ellingham takes to the streets of Tokyo and Shanghai to reveal secrets old and new

With his moody night-time shots of urban environments, New Zealand-born photographer Cody Ellingham tries to tap into the current of a city, to travel forward into its future or retreat into the past.

Ellingham, a creative based in Tokyo, came to photography while travelling through northern Japan shortly after it was devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Volunteering in the town of Otsuchi-Cho in Iwate, he was moved to capture on camera the foundations of buildings and towns that had been exposed in the disaster and streets that no longer existed. Shooting with a Sony a7RII camera fitted with specialist architectural lenses, he began sharing his work on Instagram as @cbje_tokyo in earnest in 2016.

To many of the city‚Äôs residents, however, the 23 October accident was hardly shocking. The explosion of a bus in May on the central shopping street Via del Tritone was no less than the 10th bus to blow up in Rome this year. And although there were no reported injuries, there were 22 bus blasts last year and 14 in 2016, most of which were blamed on short circuits.

Due to its unparalleled exposure to natural disasters, Manizales in central Colombia is globally recognised for its innovative approach to prevention and response

On the evening of 13 November 1985, Luz Estrella Ar√≠as was at home with her young daughter in Rio Claro, a hamlet in Caldas in the heart of Colombia‚Äôs coffee region. When she heard the roar, at first she thought it was a truck overturning. Then she heard the screams.

‚ÄúMy first instinct was to stay in the house,‚ÄĚ she says. ‚ÄúMy husband had a prize cockerel that we couldn‚Äôt afford to lose. But then the water started coming in, so I grabbed my daughter and stepped outside. The water swept me off my feet, but I managed to grab a coffee plant and hang on.‚ÄĚ She swings from one of the pillars of her porch, recreating the gesture.

With a new ‚ā¨2m fishing quay due to open in Senegal‚Äôs capital in February, has modernity finally come for the Soumbedioune fishmongers?

Photographs by Xaume Olleros for the Guardian

It is not the large-eyed dentex‚Äôs lucky day. But it is Yelli Diop‚Äôs.

The Senegalese fisherman has had a very successful haul, and arrives back on Dakar‚Äôs shores with several boxes of fish in the hull. His brightly painted pirogue ‚Äď a long, narrow canoe used by the fishermen here ‚Äď is pulled up on the beach, a length of pipe wedged under it to keep it on the sand, and the orangey-pink fish unceremoniously dumped with dozens of its kin into a crate.

The US and its would-be allies lack a coherent, joined-up plan to counter Beijing‚Äôs growing sway

The unusually rumbustious Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit that shuddered to an ill-tempered halt at the weekend proved one thing beyond any doubt: the US and China are intent on doing to the Indo-Pacific region in the 21st century what the US and the Soviet Union did to Europe in the last. Namely, use it as the primary battleground in a global turf war for power and influence.

The jousting superpowers ‚Äď described by Peter O‚ÄôNeill, Papua New Guinea‚Äôs prime minister and Apec host, as the the ‚Äútwo big giants‚ÄĚ in the room ‚Äď managed to turn what is supposed to be a peaceable platform for advancing multilateral cooperation into a noisy reprise of Captain America versus the Evil Empire. This is not what Bob Hawke and Paul Keating had in mind when Apec was launched in Canberra in 1989.

Showbusiness stars expected to bid for artwork and furnishings from renowned London club

Celebrities and minor royals are expected to go head to head at Christie‚Äôs auction house on Tuesday in the hope of securing a piece of memorabilia from Annabel‚Äôs, the Mayfair nightclub and playground of the rich and famous, which has closed its doors after more than half a century.

Liz Hurley has her sights on the private members club‚Äôs red velvet sofa (guide price ¬£2,000-¬£4,000), on which she, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss have all been famously photographed.

Party fires shot across bows of government in apparent protest over Brexit deal

The future of Theresa May‚Äôs government was thrown into further doubt on Monday night after the DUP, whose 10 votes she relies on for a majority in parliament, abstained or backed Labour in a series of votes on the budget.

The DUP is furious about the prime minister‚Äôs Brexit deal, and its decision to withhold support from the finance bill raised doubts about the future of the confidence and supply arrangement, on which May‚Äôs ability to secure a majority is based.

Kenneth Macharia‚Äôs claim for asylum was rejected and he faces removal to Kenya

Rugby players in Bristol are fighting to prevent a clubmate whose claim for asylum has been rejected from being deported to Kenya because they fear he will face persecution there for being gay.

Kenneth Macharia, a member of Bristol Bisons, a gay and inclusive rugby club, is being detained at Colnbrook immigration centre near Heathrow airport. He texted members of the club for help, and they are calling on the home secretary, Sajid Javid, to intervene.

Commonwealth Bank‚Äôs chief executive and chair give evidence in Sydney. All the day‚Äôs developments, live

11.54pm GMT

Huh, interesting. Orr asks Comyn whether there have been other times in recent years where the CBA prioritised ‚Äúfinancial objectives‚ÄĚ over customers.

‚ÄúYes,‚ÄĚ he replies.

11.42pm GMT

We‚Äôre hearing a lot about Comyn‚Äôs attempts to convince Narev to quit the sale of so-called junk credit card insurance products, and the difficulty in the face of opposition from the bank‚Äôs wealth division.

We‚Äôre told that in April 2016 Narev agreed to an internal review of the products, but it never went ahead. Later, Comyn suggested in an email that both he and the head of the wealth division mount arguments in an attempt to convince Narev of their position.

Independent inquiry finds serious failure of management over Ga√ętan Mootoo, who felt ‚Äėabandoned‚Äô by the organisation

Amnesty International failed to support a researcher who killed himself in his Paris office after feeling ‚Äúabandoned and neglected‚ÄĚ by the organisation, according to an investigation.

The independent inquiry commissioned by Amnesty into the death of Ga√ętan Mootoo concluded that multiple failings to support the employee of three decades amounted to ‚Äúa serious failure of management‚ÄĚ.

With Venezuela in turmoil, more than 250,000 people have fled to Colombia‚Äôs first migrant camp, in Bogot√°. But with scant food and no heating or sanitation, their hardship is unrelenting

The feet of Estilita L√≥pez, 78 years old, are bloodied and bruised from the arduous journey from Yaracuy, in northern Venezuela, to Bogot√°, the Colombian capital. Together with 460 fellow compatriots, she now lives in a new, city-funded migrant camp that has just sprung up on a football pitch near the airport.

Group aims to create jobs and reduce tensions on Greek island bearing brunt of migrant arrivals

An air of optimism hovers over the olive grove. Men from Africa, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq are busy building a wooden structure that will serve as a new shelter. There is quiet concentration, banter and even a bit of laughter as they bang nails into the beams.

The scene is a far cry from the chaos of the adjacent refugee camp, a place so congested it has earned the Greek island of Lesbos the unenviable reputation of being home to the worst migrant facility in Europe. ‚ÄúWhen people live in a structured environment, they behave in a structured way,‚ÄĚ says Adil Izemrane matter-of-factly.

The president claims the US should have ‚Äėcaught‚Äô the al-Qaida leader earlier, but that ignores basic details of the raid

Donald Trump has repeated his claim that Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US Navy Seals in May 2011, should have been captured much earlier, seeking once again to blame Pakistan and his political rivals at home.

Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we did. I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center. President Clinton famously missed his shot. We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!..

Are those who compare the president to anti-democratic strongmen overreacting or should we already be worrying?

With disorienting speed over the past two weeks, the US has spun from facing a fake migrant invasion, to a blue-wave election, to an attack on that election by the president. Then it was on to the appointment of a lackey attorney general, a fiasco at a first world war memorial event in Paris, and the White House disseminating a doctored video to justify silencing a CNN reporter.

In one sense, it does not matter what political ideology Donald Trump partakes in ‚Äď which label is applied to it, what historians later might call it. To summarize the views of philosophers, historians and analysts: the currents of history are flowing, and all of America is paddling; we can debate what all that was about when, and if, we make shore.

French president‚Äôs progressive global ambitions come up against reality of nationalism and authoritarian regimes

Emmanuel Macron‚Äôs domestic difficulties and plunging approval ratings present a sharp contrast with his rising international profile. In a Europe lacking strong leaders ready or able to stand up to hard-right, populist nationalists at home and authoritarian regimes abroad, the French president cuts an exceptional figure. Or, at least, that is how he would prefer to be seen.

As last weekend‚Äôs gathering of more than 60 foreign leaders at armistice services and a ‚Äúpeace forum‚ÄĚ in Paris showed, Macron ‚Äď France‚Äôs youngest leader since Napoleon ‚Äď is not without ambition on the world stage. Le Figaro suggested the elaborate ceremonies marked the start of an ‚Äúintense‚ÄĚ French global diplomatic offensive in support of democratic, humanitarian and multilateralist values.

About 4,000 residents have been evacuated from Guatemala's Volcano of Fire after red-hot lava spewed down its side when it erupted on Monday, threatening the communities below. The Fuego volcano is one of the most active in Central America. An eruption in June killed 194 people

The US president has visited the devastated sites of California's deadliest wildfire, again blaming forest mismanagement, which has drawn criticism from some residents. The blaze has incinerated Paradise, population 27,000, and damaged the outlying communities of Magalia and Concow ‚Äď the death toll is now 76

A female protester has died after being hit by a motorist as demonstrators angry at fuel tax hikes gridlocked parts of France on Saturday. Police said 47 other protesters had also been injured, three critically, as France's newest people's movement, the "gilets jaunes" (yellow vests), staged a day of action

People have descended on central London for 'a day of rebellion' in protest over the looming climate crisis. They began massing on five bridges over the River Thames from 10am on Saturday. By 11.30am organisers said all five target bridges had been occupied.

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